Euro zone investor morale rises for seventh month in a row in May

Investor morale in the euro zone improved for the seventh consecutive month in May to its highest level in more than two years, a survey showed on Monday, adding however that the recovery in the bloc's largest economy, Germany, was delicate.

Investor morale in the euro zone improved for the seventh consecutive month in May to its highest level in more than two years, a survey showed on Monday, adding however that the recovery in the bloc's largest economy, Germany, was delicate. Sentix's index for the euro zone rose to -3.6 points in May from -5.9 in April, its highest level since February 2022, also beating a forecast of -5.0 in a Reuters poll of analysts.

"The trend is therefore moving in the right direction, albeit in small steps, " Sentix said. "The data situation is encouraging, as the economy appears to have somewhat digested the various burdens of the last two years since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis." Sentix said that expectations values for Germany were no longer negative for the first time since February 2022, but the situation index remained very weak at -33.5 points.

"The weak economic momentum is therefore by no means 'self-sustaining,'" it said. "We can only hope that German policymakers do not crush this delicate plant of hope again." For the euro zone, the expectations index rose to 7.8 points in May from 5.0 points in April, an eighth consecutive month of rises and the highest value since February 2022.

The index on the current situation in the euro zone also increased to -14.3 in May from -16.3 in April, the seventh monthly increase in a row. The poll of 1,178 investors was conducted between May 2 and May 4.

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